Welcome to Texas justice: You might beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride.

Friday, February 15, 2013

NIMBY Fail

A judge in Waco had to tell residents of an upscale neighborhood that the state cannot stop a registered sex offender from purchasing a home there. “I can’t create an exception where none exists,” District Judge Ralph Strother told the newspaper. “I can’t exile these
people, and even if I said he absolutely can’t live there, what do I
tell the people in next area he moved into?”

12 comments:

Nobody much likes sex offenders even if the term has gotten so loose that it is hard to imagine what "offense" was committed. A 19 year old dating a 15 year old? Someone masturbating while in prison?

RSO's have to jump through a lot of hoops already such that I can scarecely imagine how they can find work or housing. Unless we are going to execute all of them, society is going to need to just realize that vigilance is the answer, not exclusion.

"Prison Doc" said it best with, "society is going to need to just realize that vigilance is the answer, not exclusion. With over 72,000 rso's currently in Texas and growing each week, Where are these people to go. We need to educate ourselves and initiate reasonable law change to reduce this population not just "excommunicate" them!

Texas has a lot of space. I don't like the idea, but I wouldn't be surprised if Texas is the first state to create a RSO "town", where they have to live once they are released from prison.

California already has a kind of prison for those the state can no longer hold as part of their sentence, where RSOs are sent to and not permitted to leave if they do not take part in treatment programmes.

What I like is the homeowners argument that a bible study group meets within a 1000 feet of his house. AND??? Shouldn't Christians be the MOST tolerant and forgiving group out there? What a bunch of hypocrits.

Sunray'w wench Texas would not be the first. Washington State has an island (McNeil Island) for civil commitments with its own town.

This does bring up the issue that many small towns have city ordinances that prohibit Sex Offenders from living with in certain areas whether or not they are on probation or parole.

Ex. Portland Texas boasts that within their city limits they have only two sex offenders. Never mind there were only 5 in the city when they in-acted the ordinance to begin with. Certainly seems to be a civil liberties violation without any due process.

The 1000 ft rule is more about perception then any offering of real protection. While I that a high risk pedophile shouldn't be living near a school for the majority offenders forcing them to move puts a greater stress on them and puts them at a greater risk of offending.

Maybe a whole town for us would be a good idea, then we wouldn't have to put up with all the misinformation that's out there perpetuated by media hype and political angst over reelection.

Most children are molested by someone they know and trust so you have more to fear from a family member or friend, a teacher, scout leader, youth minister or priest. Check out the numbers for yourself.

The recidivism rate for sex offenders is the lowest of any felony out there, but why should anybody stick to actual facts.

I am with you wife. I only wish that our families had our own community. Only then will we be allowed to live and be accountable for our safety and the safety of our loved ones. We could prohibit the media from intruding in our lives. I am sure the sheeple public would have no problem buying the land with which to build our town. That would guarantee that no more children would be harmed, yeah right.

Southern, daily and good for you

Grits for Breakfast looks at the Texas criminal justice system, with a little politics and whatever
else suits the author's fancy thrown in. All opinions are my own. The facts belong to everybody. Who is this guy?

"I always tell people interested in these issues that your blog is the most important news source, and have had high-ranking corrections officials tell me they read it regularly."

- Scott Medlock, Texas Civil Rights Project

"a helluva blog"

- Solomon Moore, NY Times criminal justice correspondent

"Congrats on building one of the most read and important blogs on a specific policy area that I've ever seen"

- Donald Lee, Texas Conference of Urban Counties

GFB "is a fact-packed, trustworthy reporter of the weirdness that makes up corrections and criminal law in the Lone Star State" and has "shown more naked emperors than Hans Christian Andersen ever did."

-Attorney Bob Mabry, Woodlands

"Grits really shows the potential of a single-state focused criminal law blog"

- Corey Yung, Sex Crimes Blog

"I regard Grits for Breakfast as one of the most welcome and helpful vehicles we elected officials have for understanding the problems and their solutions."

Tommy Adkisson,Bexar County Commissioner

"dude really has a pragmatic approach to crime fighting, almost like he’s some kind of statistics superhero"